The Systemic Inflammation Score Is an Independent Prognostic Factor for Esophageal Cancer Patients who Receive Curative Treatment

Abstract

Background/Aim: Perioperative systemic inflammation affects the long-term oncological outcomes in cases of malignancies. We evaluated the clinical impact of the preoperative systemic inflammation score (SIS) in resectable esophageal cancer patients who received curative treatment. Patients and Methods: This study included 168 patients who underwent curative surgery followed by perioperative adjuvant chemotherapy for esophageal cancer between 2005 and 2018. The risk factors for overall survival (OS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) were identified. Results: Based on the 3- and 5-year OS rate, we set the cut-off value for SIS at 2 in the preset study. Among the 168 total patients, 119 were categorized as the Low-SIS group, and 49 were categorized as the High-SIS group. The respective 3- and 5-year OS rates were 61.9% and 52.4% in the Low-SIS group and 33.3% and 26.6% in the High-SIS group. There were significant differences in OS (p<0.001). The SIS was therefore selected for the final multivariate analysis model (hazard ratio=2.094, 95% confidence interval=1.355-3.234, p<0.001). On comparing the perioperative clinical course between the High- and Low-SIS groups, there were significant differences in the rate of postoperative anastomosis leakage of grade ≥2 between the groups (61.5% in the High-SIS group vs. 30.3% in the Low-SIS group; p=0.021). Conclusion: The systemic inflammation score had a clinical effect on the long-term oncological outcomes in esophageal cancer patients, suggesting that it might be a promising prognostic factor for esophageal cancer patients.